Dog Racing in Vietnam Must Be Stopped

The Vietnamese Minister of Finance has issued a draft decree to authorize betting and wagering. If allowed to take effect, commercial greyhound racing would expand in another part of the world.

We cannot let this happen! The expansion of dog racing to new parts of the world will only perpetuate a cruelty that should never have existed in the first place.

Sports Entertainment Services, the operator of the current track Lam Son, has lobbied for these new regulations and hopes to offer greyhound expanded gambling at its present location. The company also plans to develop a new network of seven betting tracks throughout Vietnam. New facilities are proposed in Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Nha Trang and Can Tho, the creation of which would result in the breeding and destruction of thousands of new dogs each year. See photos of Lam Son and read about our board member's visit there last year on our web site.

GREY2K USA, joined by the Animals Asia Foundation, the RSPCA, Blue Cross of India, the World Society for the Protection of Animals, Earth Island Institute, Humane Society International and seven other groups that form the Asia for Animals Coalition, has sent a letter to Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang urging him to stop the legalization of greyhound racing in his country. Lend your voice by signing our petition.

Together, we can stop the potential suffering of greyhounds in a part of the world which is particularly dangerous for dogs. Please sign and share our petition now.

Let's do it!

Letter to

Vietnamese PresidentTruong Tan Sang:

I am writing to urge you to please block the expansion of commercial dog racing in your country.

Worldwide, greyhound racing is a dying industry that is inherently cruel to dogs. When first invented in the United States in the 1920’s, it could not be foreseen that thousands and thousands of dogs would suffer and die. Now that this information has come to light, greyhound racing is declining wherever it exists.

Between 2002 and 2010, the total amount gambled on American greyhound racing declined by 63%. Additionally, the number of tracks has been cut in half. In the United Kingdom, all but one of the London dog tracks have closed and the property repurposed for mixed housing and retail operations. Jamaica refused to legalize dog racing in 2009 and South Africa followed in 2010, citing both the poor economics and humane problems associated with the activity.

I would particularly call to your attention the recent experience of the U.S. Territory of Guam. In 2009, after several years of financial losses, the owner abruptly closed down the facility and abandoned hundreds of dogs. The result was an urgent public health and humane dilemma which was publicized worldwide.

Like Guam, Vietnam would be challenged to offer homes for greyhounds once they were no longer used for racing. In fact, there is presently no adoption program at Lam Son, which has been allowed to simply kill all its dogs once their usefulness ends. An ongoing, multi-national and expensive adoption strategy would be required to deal humanely with the overload of dogs created by any formalization of dog racing in Vietnam.

In closing, the introduction of widespread dog racing would represent a step backwards, and result in both financial losses and harm to the humane traditions of your beautiful country. Please intercede and block the introduction of commercial dog racing to Vietnam.